Un-Passe Passat

A friend and I were talking over his new car prospects the other day. His 1990-something Geo Prism is about to die... literally.  

"What was it you were test driving not too long ago?" he asked.  

I reminded him it was a Passat TDI.  

"Oh yeah..." he said with a sigh. "THAT was a nice car.  I could get one of those..." 

I could, too.  In a heartbeat. 

I knew all about the crazy ridiculous gas mileage the TDI engine provided, but what else does the new Passat have to offer?  

Let's take a look: 

The Volkswagen Passat was redesigned in 2012 and quickly earned an armful of awards, including Motor Trend Car of the Year and first place in a six-sedan comparison by Car and Driver.

Those awards, plus the new design, resulted in more than 117,000 Passat sedans finding a home in American garages in 2012—an 837 percent increase from the 12,497 Passats VW managed to move in 2010.  Not too shabby, VW. 

VW also backs the Passat with a three-year, 36,000-mile limited warranty and a five-year, 50,000-mile powertrain warranty, plus three years or 36,000 miles of roadside assistance. Cant' beat that! 

Nearly every vehicle in VW's fleet earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). But the 2013 Passat enjoys the particular distinction of earning a Top Safety Pick+ rating, which means it passed the new and challenging small overlap frontal test that assesses how well a vehicle will protect the driver when the front corner of the vehicle collides with a solid object like a tree or utility pole. 

And don't forget, VW offers two turbocharged engines. The 1.8-liter four-cylinder available on the Passat SEL Premium model makes 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque on its way to averaging 24 mpg in the city and 34 on the highway. 

Sound too good to be affordable?  Unbelievably, the least expensive Passat starts under $21,000 and my test 2013 VW Passat S with the Appearance Package was just under $24,000, including a $795 destination charge. So whether you choose an inexpensive Passat S model or the more expensive and fuel-efficient Passat TDI, this car is one of today's best sedans. 

I think I'll haul my friend over to Ken Garff Volkswagen of Orem and see if we can't get him into one of the best cars on the road. 

Volkswagen GTI Wins "Cheap Speed Challenge"

Just one month after arriving in U.S. dealerships, the all-new 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI has been named winner of Cars.com’s first-ever “Cheap Speed Challenge.” The challenge focused on compact coupes, sedans and hatchbacks that cost less than $30,000 and are equipped with features popular among drivers seeking performance in a new car. The 2015 Golf GTI beat out seven contenders in the “Challenge”.

Experts from Cars.com, USA Today, and MotorWeek, as well as an actual car shopper in the market for an affordable performance car, tested the eight contenders over a five-day period. 

Tests included:

• Zero-to-60-mph times and quarter-mile times and speeds
• 60 mph to zero braking distances
• Professional road course testing on a closed track
• 200 miles of driving on varying roads to test each car for real-world fuel economy
• Round-robin driving where each expert evaluated each car on the same street route, back-to-back, to gather overall impressions on drive, features and comfort

Joe Wiesenfelder, Executive Editor at Cars.com was impressed, "Not only does the all-new 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI offer the best performance bang for the buck, it is also one of the most comfortable. The GTI outperformed most cars in just about every test we conducted. Also, unlike some of the other Cheap Speed competitors, the GTI offers an impressively roomy and high-quality interior in addition to being seriously fun-to-drive.”

Gotta love it when we win!